Calif is $950. And of course, the entire meat counter is ‘necessary items’. One $950 theft a day for a week, or a bunch of smaller ones for a month, and the grocer is in hurt mode. Watch for business insurance to respond with higher premiums. Or the business owner can pass it off to the government as ‘inventory losses’ but that just spreads the cost to all taxpayers.
And yet, they whine about “food deserts.” No amount of tax abatement would convince me to open a business in their midst.